Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Dodge parent company Stellantis will enter NASCAR racing in 2026 with its Ram brand competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with an eye toward going Cup racing in the years beyond.
Whether that’s 2027 or later — 2027 is possible but would be an aggressive timeline — remains to be seen as the announcement Sunday focused primarily on the truck, a much easier lift than going Cup racing.
With all trucks in the series using an Ilmor engine and several common body elements, Ram just needed to design a nose, a hood, front fenders and a tail for its racing vehicle. Ram did not announce who will drive its trucks nor the teams that will field its trucks. Ram CEO Tim Kinuskis said he hopes to have somewhere between four and six trucks for the 2026 season opener at Daytona.
“We’re looking for a date to the prom right now [for trucks],” Kinuskis said. “So how am I going to get the Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to truck. So however we get to truck is going will obviously weigh heavily on do I have a path to Cup?
“Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”
Ram does not have cars so what brand of car — Dodge? Plymouth’s possible rebirth? — is still to be determined although Dodge has a lengthy history in the sport and motorsports as a whole.
“Ram is coming back to the truck series,” Kinuskis said. “It has nothing to do with Dodge, despite the fact that everyone in the world calls it Dodge Ram. … If we go back to Cup, which is our intention, Ram doesn’t have a car, so obviously that would have to be Dodge coming back.
“But I’m not making that announcement. I’m not saying Dodge is back. Don’t put that headline. But when we get to that point, it wouldn’t be Ram, obviously.”
There is speculation in the industry that GMS, which has competed in all three national series over the last decade and was eventually bought out by Jimmie Johnson in the rebranding to Legacy Motor Club, will be involved in building chassis and/or fielding trucks for Ram.
Kinuskis promised a program that will elevate fan engagement, and YouTube star Cleetus McFarland, who has competed in some ARCA races, has been linked to the Ram program.
Dodge had Cup teams from 2001-12 before exiting the sport on a high note with Brad Keselowski winning a Cup title at Team Penske. When Penske left for Ford, Dodge had trouble landing a premier team and opted to leave the sport. No new manufacturer has entered the sport since Toyota did so in 2004 in trucks and 2007 in Cup.
Kinuskis also said when he returned to Ram earlier this year, his two goals were to reintroduce the Hemi engine and get into NASCAR, where 50 percent of its fan base own trucks.
“It’s always bothered me,” Kinuskis said. “We’ve always been looking for a way to get back. It took us a long time to find the absolute right time.”
To re-enter Cup would take some engine development and significant body design, a process that would take at least 18 months, NASCAR Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst said.
“The last time that engine ran was 2012 — the core components of the block, the head, the manifold, are all still relevant,” Probst said. “Our existing engine builders develop their engines every year. There’s been a gap there, so there’d be some development of that engine needed.
“But from the basic building blocks they could start from that and do some catch-up development.”
Kinuskis wouldn’t talk about a timeline Sunday for going to Cup racing.
“Our full intention is to be back in Cup,” Kinuskis said. “But right now we’re on a path for Daytona next year with truck, with our eye on when we can be in Cup after that. TBD.
“We’re a fly with no net right now trying to get to Daytona. That’s our focus right now.”
Keselowski, currently a driver and co-owner at RFK Racing, said the trucks are the right entry point for a manufacturer as it doesn’t have to immediately get an engine available and because of the parity in the series.
“[The truck series] is a great place for an OEM [original equipment manufacturer] to enter NASCAR and really kind of get that appetite going for the Cup Series,” Keselowski said.
“It’s a big jump from the truck series to the Cup Series, but nonetheless it’s a great entry point for OEMs, and hopefully they aren’t the only one that will enter the truck series.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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